Will Taylor has shown himself to be a true athlete early on and has the potential to develop into something special if he focuses his energy in the right places. He spent the first three years of his high school career at Ben Lippen School, where he was a three-time state champion wrestler. Taylor then completed his senior year at Dutch Fork High School in South Carolina. Taylor also quarterbacked the Dutch Fork Silver Foxes to their fifth straight state championship in football in 2020.
The six-foot-tall, 175-pound multisport athlete was also an outfielder. He batted to a .318/.500/.591 slash line in 30 plate appearances in 2020, according to DiamondKast. To add to his slash line, Taylor had three doubles, one home run, five runs batted in, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, and eight walks, in the nine recorded tournament games. Taylor has committed to play both baseball and football at Clemson for the Tigers. Clemson’s website lists Taylor as batting .432 during his sophomore year at Ben Lippen School. Taylor’s junior year was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
Strengths
Taylor’s athleticism is on full display both in centerfield and on the basepaths, due to his fast speed. MLB.com rates his running as a 70 on a scale between 20 and 80. His speed allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly in the outfield, as well as be an aggressive base stealer when on base. Additionally, Taylor has already shown that he can get on base by walking, which could make him a great leadoff hitter at some point in his career. Not only does he have the legs for running and the eyes – and patience – for walking, but he has the ability to hit to all fields. With some focus on improvement in the minor leagues, it’s not difficult to see Taylor becoming a run-scoring leadoff hitter. He may even become an all-star caliber player.
Weaknesses
There are some weaknesses in his game, however. First off, Taylor has shown very little power at the plate. In 75 at-bats recorded by DiamondKast, Taylor only hit one home run from 2017-2020. He did record nine doubles, but had zero triples. But with his athletic physique and with his young age – 18 at the time of publication – it’s not difficult to imagine his power improving with age. Adjustments to his swing by whatever team drafts him, or by Clemson, could also improve his home run and power numbers.
Another weakness in Taylor’s game is his arm. As a high school quarterback, one would think that he would have a strong throwing arm, but that’s not the case in this instance. This is not to say that he doesn’t have the arm strength to be in centerfield. Some teams may consider him more valuable at second base, which he also played in high school. Of course, a move to second base may nullify some of the speed that he brings to the field.
MLB Comp
With some improvements to his hitting, Will Taylor is comparable to a young Marquis Grissom. Taylor’s hitting grade is rated at 50 on MLB.com. Grissom led MLB in stolen bases twice for the Expos (1991 & 1992). Taylor probably has a little bit less pop in his bat than Grissom had. But, as mentioned above, that can be developed in the minor leagues, or in college. Grissom also stole 429 bases in his career, which spanned 17 years. This is something that Taylor may be able to achieve if he gets on base enough in the majors. Where Taylor ought to be able to surpass Grissom is on-base percentage. If Taylor can continue to maintain his plate discipline, his athleticism and speed can carry him into a great career – perhaps greater than Grissom’s. After all, they say that speed never has a slump.
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